PMD: Radiant Darkness
by Not So Gallant Gallade
Summary: A Sneasel who hadn't been one before his little interdimensional trip befriends an outlaw Absol... who wants redemption? And to form a rescue squad? As if a rescue team of Dark-types wasn't odd enough! Mystery Dungeon fic, in case you couldn't tell.
1. Giving Up The Gun

_So, I decided to make a PMD fic. The idea had always bounced around in my head, but it wasn't until I came up with the plot that became this that I really got serious about one._

_Also, one motive (not the main one, necessarily, but a major one) is me finding a group deviantArt revolving around pmd, so... yeah._

_Anyways, I do hope you enjoy, and remember to review!_

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><p>My eyes flickered open like a lightbulb about to burn out, and after a couple of tries I finally kept them open. The rest of my body was apparently out of order too, as a sharp pain in my hip kept me from getting up immediately. Not to mention that my right leg was completely dead. After a minute of simply resting and trying to wake up my damn leg, I tried just sitting up... and ended up just flopping right back down on my side in a heap.<p>

A second try yielded positive results, though, and after walking/limping around a bit I was standing on my own two feet... and at two feet tall, it felt like.

"Whoa whoa whoa..." I said, worriedly. A quick look at my body told me what I suspected, what with short black fur and obnoxiously long claws.

"_So much for my new nail clippers,"_ I thought, blasé.

Trying to calm myself down, I took myself back to the night before. All I'd done was hole myself up in my bedroom and screw around on my DS (like every day). Of course, I had been playing playing pokemon, but nothing was notable enough to cause... this.

Not that I was too awfully scared. I was going through yet another rough phase back in the real world, internally and externally, and to have this happen took me away from it all... but for how long? Would I be like this forever? The questions bombarded my mind as soon as I was mentally aware enough to think about them. Being transported through dimensions isn't exactly easy on the head.

The landscape that greeted me wasn't exactly the most scenic, either. The woods I found myself in were barren, with some trees looking torched, others looking waterlogged and some just plain petrified. Not a place I'd like to be wandering around in for long.

Frantically searching for a river, I settled for a crude stream to confirm my eyes' story: I sure as heck wasn't human anymore.

To be specific, I was of the Sneasel species, and already I felt the Dark-type blood flowing through my veins. I ignored the random sadistic impulses that hit my brain as I stalked away, though, and once I got to a nice sturdy-looking oak I swung my claws at it just to see the results. Hey, I was a pokemon now, might as well see what I could do.

Without warning both sets of claws started to glow, and I fiercely slashed at the pine several times each.

When I stopped, a crude inspection revealed large gashes in the tree where I had struck it, awing me with their depth.

"So I really am a Sneasel... and not the weakest one out there I'm guessing..." I pondered, staring at my claws and brushing them off.

I continued on my merry little way, ambling through the forest in no real rush. Why this was was beyond me; I thought I was going to panic, but something inside of me just told me to chill and take it easy. Apparently it made a very compelling argument.

After about a quarter mile, I finally stopped, thinking, "_Where the hell am I going?"_

My answer came in the form of eggs, specifically Pidgey eggs, stashed under the brush and leaves underfoot. The smell suddenly assaulted my nasal passage in a full-on attack, and... it was unsettlingly delicious.

My mouth started to salivate as I picked up an egg with both paws, not being able to help myself. In one swift motion, I popped the egg into my mouth, and I cringed as I sent it back through my digestive tract.

I cringed a second time when I realized that I liked it.

After a couple more of those damn eggs, I continued on, not caring about the lives lost to satisfy a body I apparently couldn't control as well as I'd have hoped. Still, I felt good, and ready for anything that could be thrown at me.

Which was good, because at that moment I was nearly knocked off my feet by a white blur rushing right by me. It was followed a couple seconds later by a gang of smaller streaks, and after a second of pondering I decided to follow them to see where they ended up. Their path wound around trees, over logs, under branches, every natural obstacle that could be found in a forest was there it seemed.

Finally, the pokemon all the way up front skidded to a halt as it reached a dropoff into a river. The figure turned around, and a battle-scarred Absol face snarled at the gang of three in front of him, consisting of a Charmander, Chikorita, and, oddly enough, a Grimer.

"You're outnumbered! Surrender now and we might give you a bit less jailtime!" the Charmander exclaimed, as if he were a Charizard and the Absol a Wurmple. He wore an ugly bandana around his neck, a green one that completely clashed with his burnt orange coloring, well-groomed but with a touch of mud here and there. The other two members, who were beaming at the sight of their cornered crook, had the ridiculous things too.

Quietly, I wandered closer, and as I looked over the Absol I felt a sort of connection to him. Most likely it was simply because of him being Dark like me. As my eyes reached his face he glanced at me, and simply nodded as slightly as he could without being noticed.

Suddenly, he bowed his head, and smiled ever so slightly. His shoulders slumped defeatedly, almost dejectedly. "You're right. I might as well just give in to you young guys now. I don't have the boundless energy I used to..."

Slowly, he wandered down from his little perch, yards from the edge of the ledge. I glanced over at it, and guessed the drop was about twenty-five feet to a river below. Not an enjoyable experience, usually.

The young rescue teamers' eyes lit up, and slowly they reached for their bags. Foolishly, I might add.

In that instant, the Absol's right front paw emanated a faint light, and in a nearly undetectable movement delivered a perfect Sucker Punch to the Charmander's jaw. Taking my cue, I pretty cluelessly clawed at the Chikorita from behind, still not really sure of what I could and couldn't do as a Sneasel. Thanks to the fact that she was unprepared though, she collapsed relatively quickly, right over a fallen tree that had managed to stretch just outside the unofficial forest boundaries. I glanced over at the Absol as I finished off the Grass-type, and he was hurling Razor Winds at the Grimer, not daring to use physical attacks. I couldn't argue with that logic; Grimer's stench was putrid enough from a distance, not to mention the possible poisoning that could result.

The Absol looked at me expectantly as I pondered my other moves, and weakly I used what I thought was Ice Shard on the Poison-type pokemon. To my surprise, I found myself shooting, well, jagged fragments of ice! Of course, if this guy was a Muk it wouldn't have done a single thing, but against this weak little fellow it had to hurt a bit. He was taken down relatively quickly in any case, and I took a deep breath to try and refill my lungs afterwards.

Absol looked over at me with curiosity as the rescuers struggled to keep conscious.

"Something's different about you... mainly that you haven't bolted yet or made some crude joke at their expense," he noted, gesturing towards the foolish-looking crew rolling around like soldiers post-bombardment.

"Wait a second..."

Suddenly, he spun around and delivered a foot right to my face. It skimmed my feather as I ducked, and I popped up immediately, arms up to guard my head.

Absol simply smirked.

"Let me guess. Human?"

My jaw dropped, answering his question.

"No real Sneasel would be this... tame, I suppose. And I've heard about a couple humans-turned-pokemon... although to be honest they all seemed like the overdramatic type, sort of introverted. As for you... well, you seem decent enough. And not just because of what just happened with these kids," he said, his voice smooth but slightly fast.

"Okay..." I simply replied, trying to figure out this guy half as well as he seemed to have me.

A lengthy pause followed my comment. Finally, after a dozen awkward seconds, Absol questioned "Anyways, what were you thinking of doing at this point?"

"Oh, umm..." I thought about this for a while, but no response came up.

The somewhat feline pokemon facing me smiled politely at my confusion, saying "Well, I have an idea that might surprise you."

"And that would be?" I asked, unsure of what a criminal would want with me that would be a surprise... although really, anything would be a surprise.

"You and I should start our own little team. Except we won't end up like them after half our missions..." Again, poking fun at the little guys behind him.

Both of us shared a laugh at their expense, but then it hit me: this outlaw wanted to start a rescue team with me? Outlaw? Me? Rescue team?

Yeah, I'd say I was surprised.

"Okay, well, one other thing to note. We'll mostly be chasing outlaws, since that's cooler than just looking around a dungeon for some little lost lamb. Not that we won't save some people... especially those damsels in distress," he winked at this, "but yeah, mostly criminal catching."

Slowly, I nodded. "And why are _you_ wanting to do this? Who are you anyways?"

"Ah, finally we get to the personal business. My name's Wycliffe, and obviously I'm at the moment a wanted outlaw. In the top 100 on all the major lists, from what the grapevine's told me. Not too shabby..."

He seemed go into thought for a second before snapping back out of it. He continued "But yeah. I've had my fun with the outlawing business, and while I've gotten pretty wealthy off it... I have to stop..."

His face grew as pallid as a near-black countenance can get as he said this, and my eyebrows raised themselves a little.

"Umm, you okay?" I inquired.

"Me? Oh yeah, I'm fine," he answered. "But..."

A sigh escaped his mouth, but he went on. "My mother's dying... there's a cancer or something of the sort growing next to her heart and it's not going to hold much longer..."

My legs wobbled ever so slightly.

"My father... well, he was an abuser, plain and simple. Party all day and fuck around all night, that was him. But Mom was always so upbeat, even with bruises up and down her body if the night was especially rough. Every day, she'd give almost all her food to me... she'd just pamper me as much as she could, sacrificing everything to keep me well.

"The day before I left home, she had one last confrontation with my father. He was in his normal pissy mood, and she just snapped. Nearly tore him to pieces... and I remember both of us just having a moment to ourselves, not sure what to do or where to go or anything, just knowing that he was gone and so were all those nightmares of memories. It was numbing, just sitting there, knowing that my father was dead and not shedding a single tear. It really showed what type of person he was to us… And in that moment, she looked at me with her cold crimson eyes and said... she said..."

A single, lonesome tear rolled down Wycliffe's cheek, and I was captivated... well, more like tied up, taken hostage and thrown in a closet by his narrative. After a couple seconds, he mustered the strength to continue.

"She told me, 'I don't care if you become one of the biggest outlaws in the land, but please, don't be like your father...'"

He looked at me, and smiled sadly. "She didn't know how prophetic she was... But now that she's on her deathbed, I feel like I need to redeem myself, you know? I want to show her I'm just as capable of catching crooks as I am being one... I just don't want her to die after mating with a bastard and giving birth to a delinquent."

Wycliffe finally glared at me, dead in the eyes, and his sad stare entranced me. The dark lighting the canopy of redwoods provided made his crimson irises glow, almost. Suddenly, I wasn't seeing a lawbreaker; I was seeing a misguided soul looking for one last chance to atone for his past.

"I...I-I don't know what to say..." I sputtered, slightly depressed now by his story.

"Well, I'll leave it up to you. This is a solo mission in my mind, but I need someone beside me, you know? One person does not a rescue team make. And, of course, you've got serious potential."

Gazing at Wycliffe I simply said "You've got yourself a deal, Wycliffe."

His eyes lit up a bit, though the clouds raining gloom down on him stuck around a bit. "Really?"

"Of course!" I responded, as enthusiastically as I thought appropriate. "How could I not help a guy like you?"

"Thank you so much... I'm so glad you'll help me... oh, what's your name? Wow, how'd I forget to ask _that_ question?" he rambled slightly, making me smile. He was getting back to his real self.

"Oh, my name's Danny," I said, and Wycliffe raised a single eyebrow/space where one would be.

"Not anymore. For now on, your name will be... Ezra. Ezra the Sneasel," he determined, barely giving it any thought.

"Ezra?" I asked, curiously. Not exactly the most common name… though then again, neither was _Wycliffe_.

The Absol simply smirked. "Sounds more badass. Nobody'll be afraid of some kid named Danny."

At that, I followed Wycliffe to where the Aggron Guild, the biggest and best in the area, was. There wasn't a path cut out for us, but as I watched Wycliffe deftly make his way around the dead leaves and dirty ground, I knew he could find his way around.

Our journey was starting before I had a chance to stop and ponder everything, but then, that was what the nighttime was for, for just sitting and waiting for sleep to overtake you, with nothing to do with your current energy level other than sitting and thinking and remembering."

That was what the nighttime was for.

And I was a Dark-type.

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><p><em>Three notes:<em>

_1. I have a poll on my profile about maybe starting a contest... it would likely relate to this story, so if you liked this, go and vote on whether I should do it. ^^_

_2. I'd like to thank Indigo Crescent for beta'ing this chappy... he pointed out a lot of stupid errors I'd made, helped me reword awkward sentences and was, in general, a better beta reader than I could ever be. xD_

_3. My main issue with starting a pmd fic was keeping it original. The normal formula shoved into so many of these fics gets tiring after a while, and as such I knew I needed a great twist to make this work._

_Thus, Wycliffe the Absol was born. An outlaw wanting to form a rescue team is either going to be really auspicious or, in this case, will be noble. Either way, it's pretty awesome, I'd say._

_Not to mention that he's maybe my favorite character of mine ever. 3_

_Again, review, comment, vote on my poll, all that jazz! Gracias!_

EDIT: Changed up a sentence that has been bugging me since I posted. It sounds trivial here, but seriously, I had to. xD

EDIT DOS: Took out a mention of something, as it conflicts with his history as given in chapter 3. Which is coming soon. But yeah, he now... eh, you can figure it out. ;)_  
><em>


	2. Winds of Change

_Well, sorry bout that delay. Shit happens, and it sure as hell happened to me._

_Anyways, I'm a couple chappies ahead on this, so I think every time I finish a new one I'll type one up and post._

_Without further ado, here's chapter 2._

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><p>As the two of us ambled over to the guild, Wycliffe questioned me amicably about, well, me. When he heard I had some fighting experience (martial arts), he asked for a little demo. Thanks to my lithe, still somewhat humanlike form I pulled off moves I could never have accomplished just a day or two ago.<p>

"Not bad for a human. Ex-human. Whatever." Wycliffe grinned.

I replied with a proud smile of my own… and promptly had it wiped off my face by gravity, not to mention the exposed tree root that threw me down in the first place. Wycliffe couldn't suppress a laugh above me at my expense, although it didn't exactly sound like he tried to hide it.

"Keep walking…" I told myself under my breath, kicking myself back up. I turned to him… and saw he had bolted ahead, leaving me (literally) in the dust.

"Douche!" I shouted after him, breaking into a sprint. The sheer agility I had surprised me, and I nearly ran into a thick oak looking like the strongest thing in the forest not covered in white fur. The Absol kept his pace for enough time to burn me out before he finally slowed to a trot, and as I caught up I noticed that the oak signified the end of the grungy woods behind us and the beginning of a greener, more inviting environment.

"Look up there," Wycliffe noted, and my anger sunk away at the sight of smoke rising through the natural roof in the distance. That meant one of two things: a freak wildfire or civilization.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

"Why were you so close to the guild?" I asked him.

"Easier to find food. Haven't eaten in a day, actually," he replied, like it was nothing. On cue, his stomach let out a low growl, and he smiled, his face saying "Told you so" without his mouth having to move a millimeter.

As we approached, a small wooden fortress betrayed the underground guild run by Aggron, who according to Wycliffe was legendary in his heyday.

"Aggron and some friends, mainly Excadrill, built this whole compound in a day from what I've heard… rumors maybe, but that always did impress me," he said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

After a brief moment to let my heart reach a decent rate, we wandered up to the elevator shaft, obviously made with extreme care to prevent mishaps. As I pulled the lever, though, a voice boomed out at us.

"Who is it?" it said, the elevator remaining inert.

"Two guys who want to form a rescue team," Wycliffe shouted down in his answer.

"State your names," returned the guard, in a clipped tone.

"Ezra and Wycliffe."

Faint whispering and hissing rose from below, and Wycliffe smiled knowingly.

"Did he just say _Wycliffe?_" the Absol mimicked, for some reason with a country accent. Suddenly, the carrier jerked, and slowly we were sent downwards to the depths of the guild. Three floors later, a large group of pokemon 'greeted' us. And when I say greet, I mean they bull rushed Wycliffe and nearly knocked me out in the process.

You know, the normal procedure for new recruits.

"Nice to see you guys too…" Wycliffe said, not struggling in the slightest. He had a smile on his face, but he seemed careful to keep it from looking smug.

"My Arceus, it really is him!" one youngster declared to nobody, while a couple others called for the police chief. Several pokemon had taken hold of Wycliffe, and he was somehow incapacitated and not letting them drag him where they wanted.

Suddenly, all of the commotion came to a halt, in an almost surreal moment.

"Calm down!" a voice echoed, and the call paralyzed everyone in earshot, the only exclusion being Wycliffe.

"Bring him over," the pokemon commanded, though in a soft tone (soft for how loud it was).

Instantly, the guild members played the sea to our Moses, and we were led by a Bisharp straight to a cozy, rocky room.

Before I stepped inside I knew who we were facing, and sure enough there was Aggron, sitting in a back corner and… reading?

"Amazing what a voice like mine does to people," he said with a chuckle. "Hey Bisharp, give us some privacy why don'tcha. And make sure those eavesdroppers can't get a listen. You know they'll try," he instructed kindly.

"Roger that," the warriorlike pokemon replied, shutting the makeshift wooden door. The next sound to reach my ears was that of a boulder being pushed up against said door, scraping it just slightly.

If the guildmaster was as aggressive as his voice outside had portrayed (and as most of his kind were), I'd have been scared as heck with my only path outside blocked by a boulder. I didn't get that vibe from Aggron, though, which was relieving.

"Can't stand voyeurs… unless it's me and by accident and I get something useful out of it." He winked, and added as a footnote "But that's more from my adventuring days. Anyways… Wycliffe the Absol. Why don't we start with an explanation on your part? I've heard about you, and I'm sure you have a reason for marching into my den."

Wycliffe put a paw up, and cleared his throat before he spoke.

"I won't lie to you when I say that I do take some pride in my… achievements. I've lived a life in a short amount of time, I've been through more than most… but now it's time for me to, for lack of a better term, 'give back.'"

Aggron shifted, his steel blue eyes trained on the Dark-type in front of him.

"So you're giving up crime and you want to start a rescue team? Seems a little farfetched…"

"I know, anyone who would look at my extensive record would think I'm either crazy or I'm conning all of you. But please, hear me out."

Wycliffe told of his mother, with no new details he may have forgotten to tell me. The mood sunk to a solemn low, but he added a final note to keep silence at bay a little longer.

"This is my last chance to do something for her before she's gone," he articulated, his voice less broken now. "If you don't believe me, then lock me up here and now. I guess that would show Mom something, me having the decency to turn myself in. But we all know what I want most is to work with you to try and, well, redeem myself."

Aggron simply took everything he'd heard in, and grabbed a chunk of iron to chew on.

"You know," he finally noted, "I can't simply let you in…"

"Ah, yes, I figured," Wycliffe consented.

"So, how about this for your entrance test: you take two jobs, one rescue and one outlaw, in the same location and complete them in a timely manner. And none of those newbie dungeons either. You're a top outlaw, no way I let you get away with some Beach Cave mission," Aggron tacked on with a smile.

"Deal. Shall we go?" Wycliffe asked, his face lit up with excitement.

"No."

Aggron turned to me, and my body went as stiff as his pile of iron. "You've been awfully quiet and docile for a Sneasel…" he noted.

"Human," he and Wycliffe said simultaneously, and they grinned slyly.

"You know, I had to kick the last human in the guild out. He was just… too angsty. Was like some bad writer created him. You though, you seem chill. Enjoying yourself so far?"

"Um, yeah, I guess. Haven't done much so far…" I replied nervously.

"Well, looks like you're about to,…"

"Ezra," Wycliffe jumped in.

"Wycliffe and Ezra… a grandiose sounding duo if you ask me. Anyways, follow me. Bisharp!" he boomed.

As we strode out to the bulletin boards after the entryway was cleared, an audience gathered, excited whispers blending together like evening cicadas.

"…all a lie…"

"I heard…"

"…you think that…"

As soon as we reached the board, Aggron said "Seems your choices are Northern Desert or Brine Cave."

I let Wycliffe look over the listings, and he scanned them slowly, making sure he got every detail. Suddenly, he snatched the Brine Cave post and walked over to the outlaw board, which he had simply taken a glance at just before.

"Reaper's all mine," he said, his voice full of icicles and daggers. He stared up at the Scyther's mug shot intently.

"Taking on a top 20 outlaw already?" Aggron said, and the pokemon that hadn't already gasped at Wycliffe's boldness did so now that their guildmaster had blatantly pointed it out.

"I've got some scores to settle with him…" he stated, quietly.

"…well then, let me get you what you need…" Aggron stated awkwardly, and as he tromped off everyone else waited. A quick glance at Wycliffe revealed smoldering fire pit eyes, and an unwavering stare at the picture of Reaper.

"I'll let you in later," he told me, somehow noticing my furtive glances.

An awkward minute gave the guildmaster enough time to retrieve our badges and a small toolbox.

"Just one request…" Aggron said. "Bring him in alive. I've only ever ordered one guy dead and this guy isn't it."

"Comprende," Wycliffe answered, somewhat brusquely.

At that, both of us filed out, and Wycliffe looked back at the group that had assembled, only a couple of whom were dispersing at the moment.

"See y'all in a while," he said, suddenly flashing a pearly grin as the elevator sent us upwards.

As the sun drifted closer to temporary oblivion, Wycliffe turned to me.

"There's something I want to get us before we go… partly to identify us as a squad I guess, and partly because… well, you'll see," he informed me, leading me behind the guild.

Curious, I followed him down a worn path eastward, and after every step a blur of noises grew louder and louder. Soon the sight of roofs followed, and a market revealed itself to us beyond a slight incline.

Smiling, he took me to the first booth that came to us, a quite fancily-decorated walk-in booth. A Lilligant greeted us from behind the wooden counter, and Wycliffe kindly returned the gesture as he approached her.

"Get us the best two pairs you've got," he said thoughtfully, though still with that slight swagger he always had about him. He pointed towards the item in question, and as the Lilligant went into the back, I stared at the shades.

A couple seconds later she returned , holding two pairs of sunglasses that would make even a Garbodor look decent.

Okay, not a Garbodor, but you get the point.

"We'll take 'em."

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><p><em>Just for the record, Guildmaster Aggron is based <em>p<em>artly on a friend of mine on here. And also, an Aggron who chills out and reads is awesome. xD_

_Read, review, and... yeah._


	3. Bitter Divisions

_Danger ahead. As in, Danezra (my nickname for him sometimes xD) reveals a lot about his past... and, well, let's just say he's the world's quietest Sneasel for a reason..._

_Just... yeah. However, that was the one glaring error in my story, the fact that people knew so little about the main character (and so much about Wycliffe. Although that does say something about both of them.)_

_In any case, enjoy the story, and... yeah. Review._

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><p>As our journey out to the coast began, Wycliffe began the abridged version of his history with Reaper, the notorious outlaw we were now setting out to take down.<p>

"Reaper and I grew up very close to each other, and every day we'd hang out, always sneaking out at night and such… when I left home he did too, when I became an outlaw so did he…"

"I sense a betrayal coming," I said vacantly.

"Oh, it was a betrayal all right. We had just gotten notoriety and all as partners in crime, and we were on our biggest task yet: break into the Tyranitar Guild's treasury."

My eyes widened. "How big was the guild?"

"Then, it was a mid-sized one, on the uptick. Specialized in search-and-rescue," he answered, and then paused, as if waiting for me to ask…

"And now?"

"Defunct," he said, his bluntness giving it all the more emphasis. As we came to a fork in the road, he began speaking and wandered down the right path, which took us to a lower elevation.

"The one thing the guild lacked was security, luckily for us," he started. "After knocking out a guard, a little Fraxure, we were set, and split up to search the place. The guild was pretty large, but common sense dictated that the treasury was on the bottom floor.

"Five minutes later, Reaper located me and eagerly told me he'd found it. And sure enough, stacks and stacks of poke greeted us with their luster as we entered the vaultlike room. We had brought with us a cart of sorts to haul the money back to where we dwelled, but despite its size, we quickly realized that there was no way it could fit _everything_. It seemed to come quite close though, good enough for us.

"On our last trip down for the heist, well… that's when I lost my best friend of so many years. I was gathering my last pile, giddy that we were actually going to pull this off… and he blindsided me. Couple of X-Scissors to the face and body, not to mention my weakness to Bug-types, and I was down. A U-Turn finished me, and he bolted as I started to drift off."

With a sigh, half reminiscent and half-angered, Wycliffe finished the story, and I was awed and the sheer austerity of Reaper.

"Did you get caught?" I questioned, and he looked over at me.

"Fortunately, no. I was fortunate enough to wake up and make my way up a floor, and a not-too-smart early riser helped me out before anyone else saw me," he replied. "I haven't seen that Scyther since then, though…"

I smiled slightly. "You've led quite the life, haven't you?"

"Enough to fill TWO pretentious autobiographies," he joked.

As we strode onwards, the horizon came into view, portraying the greatest coastline I'd ever seen… and I used to live in a beach city.

Suddenly, Wycliffe stopped, and said "Hold up."

"What?" I asked him, stopping and pivoting on my feet.

"You've barely told me anything about yourself, and yet here I am spilling everything to you. All I know is that you used to be some kid named Danny, that you know martial arts, and that you love eggs." He grinned knowingly at that last part, and I felt my stomach churn.

A small silence followed, and Wycliffe broke it by ordering "Well, come out with it now. Tell me about your past."

A little surprised at his directness (which, at this point, I shouldn't have been), I stuttered to find the right words to start.

"Well, uhm… uh… I'm 15, at least in human years… but… for most of my life, I've had to… I almost had to forego a lot of my childhood because I was so scared…" I started. Memories rushed back to me as I thought of my past, still intact in this new form, this new world. My vision was blurred a little, and Wycliffe came a step closer.

"Scared of what?" he asked sensitively, cocking his head.

"My mother… both my caretakers, actually…" I told him, and finally a tear broke free of its confines and leapt towards the ground in freedom.

"My father left before I was born... he couldn't take care of himself, much less an infant, and so he walked out of my mother's life a month before I was born. I was an only child, other than a stepbrother I almost never saw, and living with just my mother was lonely… really lonely…

"Around when I got into school, she got with another man, some trailer trash she met at a bar…"

"Trailer trash?" Wycliffe asked.

"Oh, it's just a term for a poor guy who can't even keep himself clean. And this man was the definition of that… I could practically smell him a room away, his alcohol stench and his body odor… of course, he was perfect for my mom, at least when she met him. They went out drinking every night, and in the early hours of the morning they would stumble in, drunk out of their minds. Without fail, they'd wake me up, and the only thing that kept me solace in those moments was the Vaporeon doll I would hug to death those nights…

"Of course, the man hung around a lot too, and even picked me up from school some days, whenever he wasn't too hung over t-to think straight…"

At this, I choked up, and Wycliffe took a step towards me, sitting down. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah… uhm, so… you would think someone w-who was so intent on sexing up my mom and all w-would be focusing his libido on her, right…?"

Wycliffe grimaced, sensing what was coming. "Don't tell me he-"

My tear ducts finally gave out, and the drops all rushed down my cheeks in a race to reach the ground first.

"One day, in the truck… he pulled over into an alley, and turned to me… he made me… he made me…"

"You don't have to-"

"He made me pull down my pants… so he could rape me…"

Anger filled my veins, but I still spoke in a quivering tone. Wycliffe was trying not to give me a pitiful look, but he was failing miserably.

"That was just the start… from then on, he did that almost each time he picked me up… and whenever he did that, I couldn't walk straight for hours afterwards… I felt terrible afterwards, every time, and he would just laugh in my face, taunting me with 'Wasn't that fun?' and other comments…

"And my mother… she didn't believe me. I complained to her at least five times, and she would just ask him and he'd deny it. And she would send me to my room for lying, and there they would go again, talking about how bothersome I was and getting ready to do… some sort of repulsive action…"

My volume rose a bit as the pain of the past came over me. I was realizing just how horrific this was, realizing how terrible the people who raised me were…

"He… he never did stop, either. He must have… must have fucked me a hundred times at least before I reached middle school…"

I had never sworn, not even when those words were being rained down upon me… and yet the f word had slipped out so easily, almost… and not in light context either. Wycliffe seemed to notice the same thing as well, and looked a little shocked at me as well as appalled by my tale of woe.

"The man beat me occasionally too, but only if my mother had hit me first… sometimes she would come home to see something trivial I'd done, and she's smack me around a bit, and that was his cue… I never told any teachers either. I tried it once, and all I got was a bit of a beating and an extra-hard raping from mother's boyfriend the next time or two he'd pick me up…"

Wycliffe at this point came over to me and put a paw on my shoulder. I was trembling, my anger reaching such a boiling point I was about to become Dark/Water instead of Dark/Ice.

"By the time I got into middle school, I had such a hatred for both of them… I had dreams where they would disappear or I would leave or just something to get me away from them… but I could never dream of killing them. I had so much timidity smacked into me… or forced into me… that I couldn't even think about harming them. They were almost untouchable… and even when the trailer trash man finally moved out when I was 13, my mother kept up with the terrible parenting…"

"So… how do you feel about coming here… being a Sneasel now?" Wycliffe asked, and I turned to him looking like probably very few Sneasels ever did: crying and quite pitiful.

"It's… it might be a blessing, getting away from the world I was in… but I… I'm still not really a Sneasel. I'm not Ezra yet. Right now, I'm still Danny, the little boy who was always so quiet, so gloomy, but nobody knew why…" I said, glad that I didn't have to relive those recollections further.

"Ez- Danny," Wycliffe started, "No matter what you do here, no matter how you turn out, I want you to remember this: you'll still be you, after everything is said and done. You may be the same person, or you may have evolved into a completely different being, but you'll always be you. And that's the great thing about every one of us, is that we're still ourselves no matter what."

I swallowed hard, and gave my partner a smile, though it wasn't much. "Call me Ezra," I told him, and stretched my limbs. "H-how far is it to Brine Cave?"

Wycliffe, seemed a bit startled, returning so quickly to the task at hand. "Oh, well, it's a couple miles down, but it's downhill, so it's not that bad. "

Making our way down was indeed easy, and we simply walked down to where the entrance to the dungeon was blatantly visible, and without a second guess the two of us went in, with me following close behind Wycliffe.

"According to this posting," Wycliffe informed me as he whipped out the crumpled bulletin, "the little guy, a Solosis, was last seen on floor 5. And knowing Reaper, he's probably lurking at the bottom, likely near a good exit. We better hurry, though: if Reaper catches word that we're here, he'll be out like a shot."

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that Wycliffe would rather eat a rotten Weedle than let his former friend get away, especially when he was this close.

"Got it," I answered, adjusting my Darkglasses. I had taken them off earlier, but now seemed like a good time to put them back on. They were supposed to increase the power of Dark-type moves (as well as look good), and to me they sure felt that way, on both accounts.

As we entered a new room, though, a low bellowing rumbled in my eardrums. I shot a glance at Wycliffe, and he gestured to the side.

Towards a pair a very angry Gastrodon.

Their eyes were trained on both of us, and suddenly the nerves hit me. No way could I take these guys on…

"All right, first scuffle with angry dungeon pokemon in two weeks!" Wycliffe exclaimed quietly.

I wasn't as enthused.

"Ezra? You okay there, bud?" he asked, readying a Sucker Punch.

"Oh, uh… yeah…" I replied, and he shook his head.

"I know you can fight, you just gotta try. I mean, you beat up on those noobs when we first met, right?" he asked, and I nodded silently in response.

"I mean, as much as I want to and will tear this cave up to get Reaper, I still need your help and support. Plus, we have a child to save too."

Suddenly, he sprang between both of the sluglike monsters, with me glued to the ground, a spectator as Wycliffe fought. One of the Gastrodon received a paw to the face, the other a flurry of slashes. Neither was spared the power or even the grace the Absol showed in his moves.

Both were KO'd instantly.

"Next time, it's your turn," he said with a wink, moving on. His eyes glowered with anticipation, and I nearly had to run to keep up with him.

"Can't wait…" I muttered.

Anxious? Yeah, you could say that.

* * *

><p><em>So. That was sad.<em>

_I actually freestyled that, which is to say that I came up with it off the top of my head._

_Review and all that... and thank goodness I can update consistently now. xD_


	4. Up The Cuts

_So... I have no comment. Other than that I planned this story out to 15 chappies the other day, with a couple other ideas. Seriously, if I take this all the way to the end, it'll definitely be at least 30 chapters (I think)._

_Anyways, read, review, love. I hope. No guarantees, I guess. xD_

* * *

><p>The two of us ended up exploring the first floor of Brine Cave for… much too long. I guessed that we had looked through every room on this level without finding a path downwards, or at least the next closest thing.<p>

To my luck, however, we hadn't encountered a single pokemon in that time either, allowing my nerves to settle ever so slightly. As we finally caught sight of the stairs, I felt like I might be able to take on a wild creature.

"One floor down…" I said quietly, making my way over as Wycliffe trotted along beside me.

Suddenly, I was knocked to the damp cave floor, tasting dirt as I tried to recover. Wycliffe was the culprit, and he was now blocking the way downwards as he gestured behind me.

Towards a Kingler that was following us.

"Fight it," Wycliffe ordered, almost looking like he was laughing at me.

I raised my eyebrows in a look that said, above all else, "You're kidding me." As he simply shrugged, I sighed and turned to face the Water-type.

"_Let's just figure out a plan here…"_ I thought, inspecting the pokemon. My contemplation was shattered, however, when the Kingler (now about a yard or two) snapped at me.

My knee-jerk reaction was shooting an Ice Shard at the crab, and thanks to the type weakness and my general weakness it did little but to anger it more.

Knowing that my Ice attacks did next to nothing, I shut my eyes for a second as I focused on a Faint Attack. I concentrated for a second on the strike, approaching it carefully, and struck with my claws.

I struck the Kingler dead on… in the eye. And again, basically pissed it off. Too quickly for me to dodge, it grabbed my arm, sending pain throughout my body and a yelp out of my mouth.

"Why didn't that work?" I asked myself aloud, thinking back to the tree I slashed on a whim in the forest.

"Assuming you wanted to use Faint Attack, well, you're Dark. Filter in those Dark vibes. Come on now," Wycliffe answered, semi-helpfully.

I felt the throbbing of my arm reach a peak as the Kingler released it, likely readying itself for another assault, and taking my teammate's advice into action I tried to think Dark. This time, I felt a small surge of power as my arm started to glow, and as soon as I struck I hit it again with the other arm, presumably going into Fury Swipes.

"Rrrrah!" was my instinctive cry as I continued my barrage of slashing and slicing, and I didn't cease fire until it was laying in front of me, silent and stunned.

I glanced back at Wycliffe, and he was smirking proudly. "How do you feel?"

"…not bad…" I replied, taking a mental inventory of thoughts. "A bit strange… like a little bit of me wants to go and do that again and again."

"Good. Oh, and by the by, you didn't have to _kill_ the guy," he said, still with the smug grin on his face as he turned towards the trail to the second level. "No need for overkill; we're rescue teamers, not assassins."

Mortified, I looked at the Kingler again, and taking a better glance proved that he was more than unconscious.

"I just killed him…" I said, looking at my claws. I was more terrified of my power than anything else, and it sure didn't make me want to have another battle.

"No pun intended, by the way," Wycliffe coughed as we finally headed down.

* * *

><p><strong>2F:<strong>

As soon as we reached level ground again, a Gastrodon turned to us, not thrilled with the two of us impeding on his free time.

"…here, I'll get him," Wycliffe told me, and within seconds he'd taken down the slug.

"I want you to get the next guy though, Ezra. You have to learn to control your power and such, evidently," he informed me, and I nodded with a sigh.

"Understandable…" I replied quietly. As we advanced a room, another Gastrodon approached.

"Place is crawling with them…" Wycliffe noted as I exhaled deeply. I took a couple steps forward as the pokemon came towards me in specific.

Before I could attack, Wycliffe gave me a tip. "Ice attacks are normal against him. Water and Ground."

I didn't reply, just closed my eyes as I was about to strike.

And got blasted by a Water Gun.

"Try to keep your eyes open," he said calmly, which I appreciated.

I immediately went into a Faint Attack, and this time it felt even more powerful. The Gastrodon sponged the hit a bit, but a second strike sent the slug upwards.

And vulnerable to an Ice Shard of mine. Two, actually, before Wycliffe stepped past him.

"All right, let's go," he said.

"But he's-"

"Dazed and confused. Just cuz he isn't unconscious doesn't mean he can't be walked around. Unless you wanna kill him too?"

Wycliffe grinned; he knew he'd gotten me there.

"It was an accident…" I moaned, following him as we found the way to 3F.

* * *

><p><strong>3F:<strong>

There was no 3F.

Really, it just went straight to 4F. Curious, but that's a mystery dungeon for you, I guess. Not that I'd actually been in one.

* * *

><p><strong>5F:<strong>

As we made our way out to traverse this level of the cave, I could have sworn I heard sobbing.

Sensing my confusion, Wycliffe turned to me as he spoke. "Remember? The poor Solosis is on this level. And not too far away by the sound of it. We better get a move on," he advised.

He took a second to listen, then broke into a run to the path headed right. I trailed him as closely as I could as he followed the presumed sound of the young pokemon in need of saving. Puddles splashed us every few steps as we darted around, and the humidity plus the workout had me sweating a tad bit after a while.

As we rushed through the corridors, the crying grew more frantic, more desperate-sounding. As we ducked into the room, the two of us saw the reason why: a trio of Kinglers had cornered the small green blob.

Before the crabs could notice that we had arrived, Wycliffe gave me a wink before swaggering on over.

"Whoa, what's going on here?" Wycliffe boomed, his voice as devious as I'd ever heard it. As his plan hit me, I painted a smirk on my face to match that of my cohort's.

As Solosis shrunk further into the corner with a whimper, the Kinglers turned around.

"A-an Absol? In here?" the one who seemed to be a leader questioned.

"No, obviously not. This is all an illusion…" Wycliffe mocked.

"Wait a second…" another one said, drawing all our eyes.

"What?" the leader snapped as the younger one scrutinized us.

"I've seen this guy before, he's an outlaw!" he announced after a few seconds.

"The Absol?" asked the leader, pointing a jagged pincer at Wycliffe.

"No no, the Sneasel. The quiet one."

Just a couple seconds elapsed before Wycliffe spoke up again, his improvisational skills obviously up to par.

"Looks like we're getting some notoriety, boss," he told me, easily loud enough for them to hear. "Yeah, he's sure as hell an outlaw. And a damn good one I'd say, though I'm biased. The best mute outlaw ever, we like to say. And it looks to us like we've found what we wanted…"

"Well, what does he want then?" the leader questioned, sounding hesitant now.

Playing my role as well as I could, I trained my eyes on Solosis, and pointed at him.

"B-but we were-"

I slid my claws together, making a sound that was quite similar to a sword unsheathing.

"That means scram," Wycliffe 'translated.' Still, they didn't budge, although they looked ready to.

"Gee Ezra, I'm getting a bit hungry…" Wycliffe's grin grew broad as his stomach, perfectly on cue, growled. "I'm feeling like some seafood. What say you?"

I didn't even get a chance to reply, as they had turned and fled.

Wycliffe and I shared a high-five after the Kingler were away for good, and as we approached the young psychic-type the Absol gave him an earnest smile.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, making sure he didn't get so close as to frighten Solosis further.

"Umm… sorta… I just want my mommy… wait, but you're, you're outlaws…"

"Just the opposite, actually. Not only are we actually a rescue team…" He pulled out his badge for proof. "But Ezra here can talk!"

"It's true," I chimed in.

"Wh-… uh… really?" His fear seemed to be dissipating, and both of us nodded.

"Wow…"

The Solosis looked to be in awe of us, and very, very grateful.

"Now, let's get you safely out of here…" Wycliffe said, still holding his badge. With a shrug he flashed it at Solosis, and at that the gelled pokemon vanished.

"Well, that was fun… and seeing the little guy finally saved, that actually went a lot better than I thought," Wycliffe noted thoughtfully, looking at the spot where the psychic pokemon had been a moment ago.

"And now it's time for focus on real business," I said, and Wycliffe nodded slowly.

"Now now, saving the Solosis was important too…" he retorted with a wink as we began backtracking towards the way to 6F.

"I've got a blind date with destiny, and I'm hoping she turns out to be hot," he then said, which had us both laughing.

"Haven't heard that one before…" I said to myself, letting what lay ahead sink in a bit.

Wycliffe suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts, telling me "Pick up the pace, would ya?" With a shake of my head, I ran over as he descended another level, and from then on the only thing on our minds was the encounter to come.

* * *

><p><strong>7F:<strong>

With every floor traversed, the tension got more palpable, and I could tell Wycliffe was overthinking a bit.

"You okay?" I asked, and he seemed to awaken from a spell as I questioned him.

"Oh, me? I'm fine… just anxious. I mean, I know I can do it, but he's got the type advantage on me, and I don't know exactly how strong he's gotten…" he pondered aloud.

He looked down at me now. "By the way, if he has any escape routes when we see him, block it immediately."

"Got it," I simply replied, and he nodded as he stomped in a puddle.

"Good. Now let's actually get there."

* * *

><p><strong>9F:<strong>

"Hey, I've been wondering… why were those guys chasing you back when I first saw you…?" I asked hesitantly.

"Oh, the noobs? Simply because they saw and recognized me, and their delusions of grandeur kicked in," he replied nonchalantly, not breaking stride. His mind was obviously in a different place, though.

"I guess I'm at the point where those who recognize me either get scared and flee or try and catch me…"

"What kinds of things did you do to get such a reputation?" I added.

Wycliffe sighed, an indicator that he wanted off the subject. He answered me, though, saying "Mainly thefts… sort of like what I told you I did with Reaper when he deceived me…"

I made the easy decision to not press onwards despite my curiosity. Before awkward silence could arrive long enough to grab hold of us, Wycliffe told me "If we see Reaper, block the exit farthest from me. Or whatever he goes towards, basically. He's real quick… and if he charges you, Ice Shard the heck out of him, he's weak against Ice."

The end was near, and hopefully retribution would end up triumphant.

* * *

><p><em>If you were a pokemon and you got approached by a mute, mean-looking outlaw Sneasel, you'd likely be pretty freaked too. xD<em>

_That is all.  
><em>


	5. Mongrel Heart

_Yes, I'm a terrible p__erson for not u_p_dating this earlier, but it's here now! *shot*_

_Also, I'll say there's a little bit of language in the encounter between former friends, if ya know what I mean. But yeah, enjoy.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>End:<strong>

A dank corridor, not wide enough for us to walk side by side, led us down to the end of the cave. The path split as we reached level ground, on the left lying a straight lane from which one could hear the crashing of waves against rocks, a continual beating that the masochistic rocks just stood and absorbed, jaded by it all. On the right, meanwhile, was a spacious and sapphire-hued cavern, the only exit being the only entrance.

"You take the room," Wycliffe ordered, wandering down the left side. A quick sniff confirmed one thing:

"He's here."

Silently, I edged just a little bit into the room, but found nobody. However, there were several remnants of Reaper's, proving that he had made himself a little base here.

Wanting to be quick about it I ran back into the hall, calling "Anything?"

"No, but I-"

He turned around, then stopped dead.

"Back up, quick!" he ordered.

The second I backpedaled, a green blur shot down, cursing to itself.

"Knew I shoulda bolted the other day, dammit…"

Reaper charged right at me as soon as his feet touched the clammy floor, and by instinct I shot an Ice Shard at him, more self-defense than attack. Despite me being, well, me, he flinched from the strike. This was just enough of a pause for Wycliffe to pounce with a Night Slash, boosted from a Swords Dance he'd set up as I somehow didn't get run over.

"Long time no see, bud," Wycliffe said from behind the Scyther, who was now eating dirt. As he turned around and staggered to his feet, he smirked.

"Well, if it isn't my old partner in crime. Yes, it has been quite some time."

"Uh-huh. Tell me, why _did_ we split up again?" came the bitter response, a calm voice laced with the vitriol of a killer.

"Wycliffe… you were just too good for me is all. I just wasn't worthy, and had to go on my own-"

That earned him a Sucker Punch to the jaw.

"Asshole. No duh you weren't worthy, nearly sending me to jail for the rest of my life because of your greed," Wycliffe fired back.

The smirk quickly vanished without a trace from the Bug-type's face.

"Okay, you know why? Because I was _ready_. I was ready to catapult myself to the ranks of the elite, and look what happened! But to do it, I had to go solo." He shrugged indifferently, only serving to fan Wycliffe's flames.

"We'd been friends since we could barely talk!" the Absol replied, recomposing himself after the outburst. "…no matter… you're obviously a completely different person now. And not for the better."

"I could say the same for you, apparently…" Suddenly, Reaper glanced back at me. "Who's the kid?" A chill ran through my spine… even though I was half Ice-type.

"My partner in crime, so to speak. Except it's just the opposite," Wycliffe answered smoothly.

Reaper took a step towards me. I stepped backwards.

"Interesting… so, a rescue team, then? You? You're shitting me!" Reaper cackled at his former comrade, who took it in stride. "And with this little guy, too? I'm surprised he even made it all the way down here, looking at him!" I did my best to look poised, but all three of us knew I was pretty much the opposite at this point.

"It's about time I turned around, actually. Plus, how fantastic would it be for my first mission to end with me arresting you?" Wycliffe jumped in, taking the focus off of me, thankfully.

"About as fantastic as-"

Before he could finish his sentence, my paranoid mind sensed (or thought it sensed) Reaper was ready to flee, and as such I pounded him with another hit from my apparent favorite move. He dropped to his knees, unprepared, and Wycliffe stared at me.

"Dirty, but okay…" Coolly, he Night Slashed at Reaper, who still semi-dodged it from his position, the blow grazing his face.

"Kid, I suggest you stay outta this. This is between me and him, got it?"

"Fine with me, going mano y mano," Wycliffe said, taking a glance at me before returning his pupils to his adversary.

Silently, I watched the former duo exchange blows. Both were offensively-oriented just by species, and their battling reflected that, the two of them blurs of motion as they used their agility and power to almost alternate strikes. After about 5 minutes or so, neither one had a clear edge, though Reaper's X-Scissor attempts were taking a toll on Wycliffe. He was surely hanging in there, though, despite the weakness to his opponent thanks to typing.

"Gah, guess you're pretty worthy of that spot on the outlaw rankings after all..." Reaper said as he narrowly avoided a Night Slash to the thigh.

"I like to think so... not that it matters now!"

Wycliffe pounced again, but the Bug-type parried with a Vacuum Wave, following right up with an Air Slash to smack Wycliffe back. He landed on his feet, though, and thus no ground was lost.

Reaper decided it was his turn for an assault at this point, taking a deep intake of breath before darting forward, bladed arms glowing with what I recognized now as Air Slash. Wycliffe made a calculated roll to his left, the attack missing him completely as a result, and he popped up immediately afterwards, his assessment right on target. The Scyther went after him again, this time with X-Scissor, and yet again he dodged, though this time it was a much narrower gap.

"Just like you to just dodge all over the place... pussy..." Reaper taunted, and Wycliffe visibly flinched just the tiniest bit.

"'Long as it puts you down," he said with a shrug, pondering what to do next. As it looked like a proverbial lightbulb went off over his head, another Vacuum Wave came in for him, and this time it caught him pretty hard just under his head. A keen sense of balance meant Wycliffe stayed on his feet, though, not leaving any other openings for his foe to strike further.

As Reaper stood panting, staring Wycliffe down, the Absol prepped another attack, a couple rings surrounding his visibly fatigued body. The Scyther's body tensed, ready to dodge. In an instant, rocks formed out of the rings, in what was a Stone Edge attack poised to take out Reaper right then and there if he couldn't avoid it.

"Not bad," Reaper exhaled, leaping to evade the first little wave of the attack. His wings flapped a mile a minute as he darted around the shards of terra firma as only an insect can, but just before Wycliffe's offensive faded, one caught his wing. He was sent to the ground below from the sudden loss of flight, and now was the time for my move.

* * *

><p><em>9F:<em>

_I took a step down the stairway leading to what we anticipated to be a brutal, hard-fought duel, but before I could go any further, I was yanked back by Wycliffe, after an "Oh!" escaped his mouth._

"_Wh-what?" I asked, shaking myself off._

"_I want you to deliver the final blow, when he's weak," he told me, poker-faced. I raised an eyebrow at that._

"_I would have thought you'd want to take him on all by yourself. Y'know, so-"_

"_Yes, I know, that seems like the logical thing, doesn't it? But then, we _are_ a team, no? Whether it's someone deeply ingrained in my past or an outlaw I've never met before, this is a mission like all the others we're gonna go through, and we'll be a duo through all of them," he replied, putting a paw on my shoulder now. _

_"I'll kick his ass most of the way, and you can in the end. And then we'll be official members of the Aggron Guild, and then we go get something to feast upon. Deal?"_

_I grinned, glad that he at least seemed as relaxed as he was acting here going into what was coming up. "Deal."_

* * *

><p>As Reaper fell I charged in, with my biggest Ice Shard yet being readied. His back was turned to me, and as such it was surprisingly easy to go in unnoticed.<p>

The attack hit without resistance, fully charged (at least I thought so), and Reaper was nearly knocked out right on the spot from the haymaker of sorts.

After a couple seconds, Reaper came to a little, and Wycliffe pounced on him.

"C-couldn't finish me yourself?" he taunted.

"Ezra and I are a team, man. _We_ took you down," he replied. Before Reaper could even think about making a move, Wycliffe Night Slashed the Scyther, and his career was history.

"Well," he said, looking up at me, "that's that. Nice work, my man. Badass Ice Shard there… guess you like that move, eh?"

"Guess so…" I said, fishing around for my badge before remembering my partner had it in our bag. Right as I realized this, I was hit in the forehead by just the thing I was looking for, tossed over by Wycliffe.

"Now, how do these badges work…?" I asked, inspecting mine...

As Wycliffe winked and teleported away with Reaper, badge raised.

"Real nice…" I muttered to myself, before hoisting my badge as well.

"Hopefully thi-"

* * *

><p>When I finally reconnected with reality, I found myself standing behind Wycliffe, his head held high amongst a mob of wide eyes and wider mouths. Below him lay the outlaw we had just taken down, still knocked out, and he attracted just as many eyes as the Absol who hauled him in.<p>

"He did it…"

"And so quickly…"

"That really is him…"

"I bet the Sneasel didn't do a damn thing…" I heard a Nuzleaf mutter, earning him a cold stare from me.

"All right, all right, make a path everyone!" a commanding voice said out of the blue.

The throngs parted to reveal a very well-kept Espeon, the way she walked as silky as her fur. Her eyes glistened in the natural lighting of the guild building, her ruby gem doing the same.

"What have we here? A top outlaw, I see?" she asked, half-rhetorically.

"Yes, if you're referring to me. Or this guy," Wycliffe pointed to Reaper. "Although both of us are now former top outlaws, for very different reasons," he assured, letting the feline take psychic hold of Reaper.

"Charming. Anyways, glad to have you on our side, Wycliffe."

At that she left, not one for small talk it seemed. Reaper didn't even wake up as he was carried away by the police, making her job quite a bit easier.

When the two were finally out of sight, every head in the crowd swiveled to face us, and Wycliffe broke into a huge grin.

"Well then, I suppose we should be seeing Aggron now?" he asked me aloud, and I nodded after a second. Without hesitation, everyone moved over to let us through, and we strode right on through the new path to the headmaster's office.

After a slight pause at the door, we entered with a nod from Bisharp, who leaned in and said "Nice work, guys."

We subsequently saw Aggron sitting and reading "An Anthology of Criminals."

While wearing reading glasses.

"Are those custom-fit?" Wycliffe asked brightly, causing the Steel-Rock hybrid to drop his book enough to see us. After recognizing us, he marked his page and set it down, a playful smile barely visible.

"Actually, yes. And they work tremendously… as well as you two, as I heard out there." It'd been an age since I'd heard such a seamless segue… especially from reading glasses to dignified bounty hunting.

"Well, we like to think so…" Wycliffe responded beside me.

"I must say, I am very much impressed with both of you. Not just for the fact that you brought that outlaw in, but for the other mission."

He paused for a second, then continued.

"I just talked with the Solosis you rescued, as well as his mother… the young one thinks of you two as his idols now, you know. You saved his life, in all likelihood, and I do believe you have the unyielding respect of those two because of it," Aggron noted.

"I'm just happy he's safe now… it really is tragic that you get so many of these distress calls, but it's nice to know that we can make such a difference just by going out and chasing away some baddies."

"Yes, that is what we're about here, and I do believe first impressions tell us that you're well-committed to that… 'long as you're not just trying to pull a quick one on us," he joked.

"No no, I'm a changed man. And really, do I seem like the type that would go for some cheap stunt like that? No thanks." Wycliffe was upbeat despite the obvious dig at his past.

"Anyways, good to see you guys are in one piece… Wycliffe, you're dismissed. Ezra, I would like a word with you?"

With a shrug, Wycliffe left the room, leaving me alone with the headmaster.

"So, how did your first mission turn out for you? Nerve-wracking?" he asked kindly. Even though I knew I wasn't getting lectured or anything of the sort, I still stammered out my reply.

"Uh, yeah, it was pretty… pretty intense. Wycliffe was really helping me out and all, though, so… it went well. Obviously," I said, and he nodded.

"You didn't kill anyone, did you?" He laughed, but at the mention of it, my eyes widened without my mind's consent.

"Uh- umm…"

Aggron was unfazed, and even smiled. "You know, I accidentally brought on the death of the first dungeon pokemon I fought after becoming an Aggron. Almost the next two, too."

"R-really?"

"Yep. And look how I turned out!"

We had a chuckle at that, then the guildmaster continued. "My point is, don't worry about making mistakes. Wycliffe is evidently a great partner for you to have, as well as a mentor you can rely on for sure. If I were you, I'd make sure I take note of everything he does right," Guildmaster Aggron advised, and I nodded.

"All right. Just wanted to see what you thought and all. You can go now."

"Thanks…" I replied, bowing my head before making my exit as well. Wycliffe was waiting for me as I came out, and he grinned widely as he fell into lock-step beside me.

"So, wanna grab some food?" he questioned, and on cue my stomach growled. "Guess that answers that!"

The two of us made our way out of the guild's property without another word, with a hard-earned meal waiting for us wherever Wycliffe took the two of us.

* * *

><p><em>Interesting that Ice Shard is a physical move, and yet is sorta executed like a special move. But because it's physical and has STAB, Sneasel and Weavile are boss with it.<em>

_Umm… in response to two of my friends' amazing reviews, Wycliffe is allowed to poke fun at Ezra after he accidentally kills pokemon because he's a Dark-type and has dark humor and is generally humorous, as am I, I like to think._

_If you were an ex-outlaw Absol, you'd be amused at that, even reformed like Wycliffe. *insert winking smiley face here*_

_Just for the record, most future dungeons will not have such small intervals between floors. This was an exception because it was the first dungeon and between Ezra having to learn the ropes a bit and having the two missions there was a lot going on. Dungeon crawling is definitely a great way to fill chapters, and it will be done in the future to varying extents, but as for taking up an entire chapter? That will be rare, more so as we delve further into the story._

_Also, just in case you're curious or care, an update on the contest winners: FirebirdXoX, the winner, will have her character in the story starting… a ways in the future. Somewhere around 11 or 12 or 13 or something, if I remember correctly. So it'll take a hella long time, knowing me. Thiefmaster905's character may have a cameo or two in future chapters, as well as a mission later on concerning him. Finally, Fear The pika's character… she's gonna be coming up soon. So yeah._

_Oh yes, and if you see any discrepancies between the game and the story and such, it's probably because I don't want to be restricted by the games when it comes to many things. It's a great guideline on the basics, but I prefer to keep my story its own thing, in a way. And yes I've __played both 1 and 2._

_Anyways, this was my nice, 300+ word A/N, and that up beyond the line was my nice, much longer but less rambly update of the story itself, so… yeah. Hope you enjoyed the wrap-up of the first mission, and review review review. I'm getting more review review reviewers with every chapter, and I would love love love it if you guys would review review review and keep that trend going!_

_Side note: The chapter name comes from the Broken Bells' debut album... which I was listening to as I finished up the chapter. I always seem to go to my iTunes for names of chapters and such, and as soon as I saw Mongrel Heart, I just went "Oh wow, this is convenient."_

_Hell, I'm even listening to that very song now, by accident. I take it as a sign I made the right choice. xD  
><em>


	6. Do It Again

_Holy shit... no... it can't be real... BUT IT IS!_

_YES! I HAVE UPDATED THIS STORY!_

_This is a slightly late birthday gift to my girlfriend, actually, because she wanted to see an update to one of my stories and since I'd gotten going with planning this one again, I figured I'd give this a go. I looked at what I had so far, started basically from scratch on my outline, condensed it to somewhere around 25 chapters, hopefully a little less, and I feel like the end result is something that's much more logical, more interesting, and successfully condenses the story from about 32 chapters previously, not to mention it accomplishes the most important thing I needed to take into consideration when planning the means to my end: solidifying the character development. I've got a HUUUUUGE ending mapped out, and if I follow through on writing this story the whole way through it will indeed be one to make you think._

_With that said, this chapter sucks. It's short, it's a bit filler-y, and yet it's an update. I'm introducing Wy's hidey hole a.k.a. home, then forwarding them to another mission, and that will lead into a very important encounter next chapter, so... yeah. At least it's something?_

_F*** it, just enjoy the fact that I have this up and it isn't total garbo. You could be doing worse things with your time. ^_^_

* * *

><p>After all was said and done, we wandered over to Wycliffe's hideout, our slight bloating slowly getting worked off since the stroll to his hideout was a good hour or so. It was hard to keep track of time for me, not having the pocket watch I lugged everywhere as a human, like Linus and his blankie but not as ridiculous. Or versatile, I suppose.<p>

In any case, I was surprised to see the sun suddenly blinding me as I snapped out of deep thought. It was setting, creating layers of color that I could discern clearly over the horizon of the vast seas not far in the distance. I _really_ had to learn how to do such basic things as keeping time in this world...

"Well," Wycliffe started, motioning towards… seemingly nothing of importance, "welcome to my humble abode."

"Your humble abode seems to be invisible…" I said, glancing at the namesake cliffs of Craggy Coast. There was nothing out of the ordinary that I could find, but when I looked over at Wycliffe, he was staring intently in front of him, before striding right up to the face of the rock.

"And that's exactly the point!" he chimed, then focused all his attention on the cliff's side. A moment later his claws started to glow light blue, and between them started to form an orb of the same color. He reared them back after a couple seconds, the orb suddenly expanding, and he shot it at the bluff… which resulted in a faintly rectangular opening revealing itself in what I now saw as a slightly indented portion of the crags.

"The wonders of Secret Power… Anyways, follow me, Ez," Wycliffe said, motioning for me to follow him inside, and I dutifully did so. After both of us were inside, he again used 'Secret Power,' shutting the entrance, and I looked back forward to see a wall, obscured mainly by the darkness that had shrouded us as soon as the entrance was closed.

"Stay close, or you're not getting through this maze very easily at all," he advised me, and sure enough, I was right by his side to keep from getting lost. "Remember the turns, too. This _is_ what you'll be navigating every day to get to bed. And before you ask, it was part of the whole 'secret outlaw hideout' thing. Had to have that little extra insurance, I guess…"

On that note we began, Wycliffe obviously knowing this shadowy labyrinth by heart but keeping slow to help me do the same. With a lack of surroundings to look at, I had more incentive just to concentrate on memorizing the path, and by the time I got to the end, I already felt like I just about had it down.

"Right, left, right, right, left, right, left, left, left… right, left, right?" I asked as he announced our completion.

"Almost! You forgot a turn and got two mixed up... there are a couple intricacies to worry about too, but you, my friend, catch on quick. You'll get it in the next couple days easy, I guarantee you that. Now then, to the residential area~"

As it turns out, said area was plain as could be, all with a very temporary feel to it.

"This looks pretty… transient to me," I told him, and he nodded, face lit by… cracks in the wall?

"Well, I used to be an outlaw, right? I _had_ to be able to just up and move my home. If you can even call it that," Wycliffe replied with a sigh. "There's another thing I won't miss about that life, the obligatory paranoia… it was rough being so migratory because you were scared about people being right on your spiky black tail, trying to incarcerate you for the rest of your foreseeable future… not that I didn't necessarily deserve that punishment, because I did, but, you know…"

The Absol looked around at his abode, unassuming as it was, then turned back to me.

"Anyways, this is where we'll retire to night after night, barring overnight ventures of course… make yourself at home, I guess?"

"Thanks… what's in the cracks in the wall over there?" I asked, and Wycliffe nodded, evidently expecting the question.

"Crystals. They've been there… longer than I've been here, for sure, but something about the way they've grown made them reflective of light… possibly silver deposits or something. Either way, I made sure that a few small holes on the other side let in light so that they reflect off the crystals, and thus it provides the lighting. Of course, it doesn't work at night, but I don't need it by then." He shrugged, then looked over towards his bed (a quilt) in a back corner.

"Oh, damn, forgot about that…" Wycliffe said, grimacing for a split second. "Here, you can crash on my bed tonight, and tomorrow at some point we'll head into town and get you your own little piece of bedding."

"Wh- really?" I stuttered.

"Yeah, of course. No skin off my nose, partner. Bed's all yours tonight." He shot me a toothy grin, fangs in full view, but an earnest one of course.

After a couple minutes of talking I did flop down on Wy's bed, a wave of exhaustion slowly working its way through my system, and within a pair of minutes I was out like the crystal lights that were fading as the sun set outside.

I woke up (and, after a couple minutes, headed outside) to find the weather on an off-day for most; a freak cold day, with temperatures probably down around the 40's, and the sky looking ready to tear up and wail at any second. Who knows, maybe one of the gods just went through a bad breakup.

Of course, I instinctively loved the weather. One of the perks of being a Sneasel, I guess.

It took a decent-length walk to reach Aggron's guild, of course, but this time when we entered the air was much less… tense.

Well, at the very least the eyes boring into us weren't hostile.

We made our way to the bulletin board without having to tread on hot coals and broken glass, and stared up at the postings for rescue missions.

"Whaddya think, Ez?" Wycliffe asked, turning to look at me as I perused all the requests. Honestly, I hadn't too much of a clue as to which ones would be better than others; the only real hint I had as to the skill level, so to speak, of the dungeon was the number of floors. A dungeon that had at least 20 floors was probably a lot harder to traverse than one where the person in distress was on the 7th floor.

"Well, what do you think?" I asked, a bit weaker than I hoped to convey, and he grinned, probably getting that message.

"I'm not gonna shove you right into or anything right now… oh, here, Crystal Crossing. That's a decent level area for you… though an easy one for me. Plus, there's a poor Electrike that needs rescuing!"

"Guess it's settled, then?"

"Guess it's settled," Wycliffe agreed. At that he unceremoniously took down the dispatch, and off we went to the depths of Crystal Cave.

Silently, obscured from view by opaque crystals, she looked on at the duo. An odd couple, she sensed, despite them being two Dark-types. There was something odd about their chemistry, something that wasn't overly dark at all… then again, the same could be said of herself… at least in her own view.

The Skuntank decided to stalk them into Crystal Crossing, to investigate; she suspected they were a rescue team, and despite their typing their demeanor was oddly jovial, and seemingly pretty open.

Perfect for her plans.

The first floor, interestingly enough, was just the Absol doing away with anyone in their path, and this was what really caught her eye: he did it without so much of a gram of effort. He could have been blindfolded, deaf and had one paw tied behind his back and would still have an advantage, it looked like. This was an interesting development, for sure, and for a second she nearly retreated, cut back on her plans after seeing such a display of power.

Instead she pressed on, lurking right behind them, waiting for the right time to make her move on them.

She'd show them. Oh yeah, she'd _definitely_ show them.

* * *

><p><em>Oh shit, they have a stalker. And it doesn't look like the best picture is being painted of her.<em>

_Meh, who am I kidding, a decent number of you already know what happens with her. XD_

_Couldn't think of a good title for the chapter, so I just went with the song I'm listening to now: Do It Again, by The Chemical Brothers._

_Meh._

_Thanks for reading this crappy, short, filler-ish chapter, and... yeah. I'm back with this one~_

_P.S. I'm definitely going to be focusing on improving this story from now on. I've been feeling really bad about the first few chapters, because I feel like there's a gaping flaw in all of them, so from now on I'm going to work extra hard to sidestep those literary potholes and keep the errors in check. Hopefully, the rest of the story will be much more stable~_


End file.
